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The American Academy of Religion and the Society of Biblical Literature will be hosting their Annual Meetings in Baltimore this year from November 23 – 26. The meeting is one of the world’s largest gathering of scholars interested in the study of religion. This year’s meeting will feature a panel discussion of David Clough’s On Animals (Vol. 1): Systematic Theologyco-sponsered by the Christian Systematic Theology Section and the Animals and Religion Group (Sun. Nov 24th 3p-5p). The panelists for the event will be Margaret Adam, Chris Carter, David Fergusson and Stephen Webb. David Cunningham will be chairing and David Clough will give a response to the panelist’s discussion. Here’s a description of the event from the AAR website:

David Clough’s On Animals is the first work to consider the place of animals in Christian systematic theology, treating a wide range of doctrinal questions under the broad headings of creation, reconciliation, and redemption. The book argues that addressing “the animal question” is crucial for the coherence of Christian theology — and that doing so can bring new insights to the discipline, as well as guiding human conduct in relation to non-human animals. This panel will subject the book to critical scrutiny from a diverse range of theological perspectives (feminist, African-American, philosophical, and denominational); panelists will explore the power relationships inherent in traditional Christian reflection on animals, as well as the implications of including or excluding animals from Christian accounts of community and communal praxis. The panel will consider whether the book succeeds in making its case for greater theological attention to animals, as well as evaluating the positions it defends.

Regrettably, I will not be able to attend, but for those who can it should be a great discussion! I do hope that there will be video or audio coverage of the event available online.